Yours Is the Only Hand I Want to Hold
by Aikat3rin3
Summary: A cute two-parter. High school isnt easy, especially with foster parents that don't like your boyfriend, but Ulquiorra was never really one to give up or back down, especially when it came to Grimmjow.
1. Chapter 1

I don't own anything but my ideas.

XXX

Ulquiorra was running, his feet pounding against the unforgiving pavement, his breath pounding in his lungs and his heart hammering in his chest until he almost ran straight into the crowd of people waiting at the crosswalk. Waiting without a care in the world for the light to feel they were worthy enough to change to red and signal them to cross.

Ulquiorra pursed his lips, shifting anxiously from one leg to the other and back, pleading and staring up at the light, begging it to turn. He blinked suddenly, kicking himself mentally when he realized that he was praying to an inanimate object and gripped his bag tighter in his hand before streaking out into oncoming traffic.

People were shouting and horns were blaring as tires skidded across the pavement, slick from the rain, but Ulquiorra only sped up, not waiting for the crowd of people on the other side of the street for the light to move out of his way and pushed through them, ignoring their shouts and muttering.

His lungs were about to pop, and he thought he would never make it, but then he could see it. The large white building came into view in the distance, mostly because of the giant red cross on the top that lit up at night for helicopters flying major wounds in.

Ulquiorra veered for the emergency drop off, knowing that was where he would be. He dodged the ambulances and doctors yelling for him to stop running and burst into the ER. People were running, walking, sprinting and fainting everywhere, there was blood on the floors from what looked like a very recent car wreck and doctors were yelling orders to others so fast it was amazing they could keep up with each other, but what Ulquiorra was really listening for was—

"AAH! **FUCK**!"

Ulquiorra turned to the harsh voice, pushing his way through the people until he caught sight of the aqua-blue hair through the crowd and fought through the rest of the people to the side of the gurney, staring in silent shock down at what he saw.

"What. Happened," Ulquiorra almost spat, his bag dropping off of his shoulder.

Grimmjow winced again, letting out another loud yelp as a nurse wiped the blood away from his upper arm. "Got in a fight with some dumbass, motherfucker had a knife hidden up his—AAH! **The fuck are you doing**?" he bellowed at the poor nurse, who almost backed away before she remembered his arm gushing blood and returned to cleaning it. It looked like he was going to lose that arm when Ulquiorra had first walked over to the gurney. What he really wanted to know was how big of a knife it was to create that deep a wound. And the more Ulquiorra stared, he finally saw that the blood on Grimmjow's chest wasn't from his arm, there was another huge gash running down the entire length of his torso.

Ulquiorra watched, fighting not to role his eyes as Grimmjow griped over the doctors ruining one of his favorite shirts as they cut it away to clean his wound. Ulquiorra leaned his head forward, pinching the bridge of his nose as he told himself very calmly and slowly to count to ten before continuing.

"And how exactly did you get into that fight?" Some things about Grimmjow would never change.

Ulquiorra waited patiently until Grimmjow was done yelling about the pain and started to tell him what happened, when all of a sudden a shout over all the noise cut him off, irritating Ulquiorra even more.

"It's my fault! I'm so sorry!" an orange-haired girl called, her breasts arriving two feet in front of her as she ran to Ulquiorra, tears dripping from her eyes. Oh, Ulquiorra couldn't **wait** to hear this.

"It was those creepy men!" she blubbered, hanging on Ulquiorra as she relayed the story, leaving Grimmjow with his mouth half open from being in the middle of speaking. "They were following me and then I turned into an alley to get away except that I didn't know it was an alley, I thought it was another road, I didn't see those trash dumps in it, and they trapped me and then he came and started fighting with them and then one of them pulled out a knife and they…!"

"Are you hurt?" Ulquiorra asked, looking for any excuse to get her off of him. Her hair wasn't even a pretty orange; it was a half-way-almost-molding kind of tangerine orange. She had on the same uniform on as Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki's school; he would have to ask one of them who she was, because he didn't think he could deal with anymore of her right now.

"Oh no, I'm not!" she smiled. "He protected me so quickly that those men didn't even have a chance to touch me!"

Ulquiorra shook his head, dipping it to hide behind his bangs as he turned back to Grimmjow so no one could see the tiny smirk that touched his lips. Some times he never understood Grimmjow, and then the taller, brasher boy would never cease to amaze him just when Ulquiorra thought he knew Grimmjow as well as he could.

"Grimmjow, shut up," Ulquiorra said quietly when Grimmjow again yelled at the pain, thankfully silencing the blue-eyed boy.

"May I talk to you?" a nurse asked Ulquiorra, holding a pen at the ready to her clipboard.

Ulquiorra nodded, letting her lead him to the much quieter waiting room where they both took chairs around the other people laughing, crying and playing. Ulquiorra promptly tuned them out, too busy thinking about if Grimmjow would need physical therapy for his arm and how the younger boy's foster parents would react.

"Did you say his name was Grimjaw?" the nurse asked.

"Grimmjow, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez," Ulquiorra corrected, spelling out both of the unique names. The nurse looked a little impressed that he could spell Grimmjow's last name so easily, but to Ulquiorra, it was like saying his birthday. He'd known it by heart ever since that day two years ago.

"And how do you know him?"

The nurse waited politely as Ulquiorra paused, his head dipping again.

"Are you his brother?"

"…No… we're just friends."

XXX

"Ulquiorra, do you know how late it is?"

Ulquiorra sighed inaudibly, looking up at the clock in realization of just how many hours he'd been there. 12:03, he'd been in the hospital for almost six hours after every other one of their friends had left at five, when visiting time had finished, and then he'd left at eleven to drive Grimmjow home. His curfew was nine on weekdays even though he was already eighteen and a senior in high school; it was a wonder Sosuke Aizen, his foster father, wasn't taking his head off over the phone in the most calm and polite way possible.

"I do, and I apologize, but one of my friends was hurt and is in the hospital and I've just been so distracted I haven't looked at the time."

"Was it Grimmjow?"

Ulquiorra didn't miss how dangerously calm Aizen's voice had gotten. He knew both of his foster parents hated Grimmjow, but…

"Yes, but he was protecting someone."

"You know I don't like him very much," Aizen reminded him coolly. That may have been the understatement of the century and Ulquiorra was actually surprised that he wasn't elaborating more on it. Some of his favorite choice words when discussing Grimmjow were insubordinate, rude, disrespectful, brash, arrogant, impatient, reckless, and a few others that Ulquiorra had pushed out of his mind, having no desire to remember them.

"Yes," Ulquiorra said simply, not continuing the subject.

"Are you coming home now?"

Ulquiorra closed his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling, praying that this would work. "No, Ichigo has asked me to stay over his house tonight. He's very worried about Grimmjow."

It was farfetched; Ulquiorra wasn't going to lie. Ridiculously close to Grimmjow or not, Ichigo Kurosaki was not one to panic under any circumstances, but he didn't have a better story, and Aizen wouldn't have bought under any circumstances if Ulquiorra had said Nnoitra needed comforting tonight. Nnoitra, Grimmjow's best friend, had strolled casually into the ER ten minutes after Ulquiorra, taken one look at Grimmjow's mangled arm and chest before falling over he was laughing so hard, and then he proceeded to taunt Grimmjow for letting some street thug get him like that.

"Well, all right, but call in the morning. Goodnight, Ulquiorra."

"I will, goodnight."

Ulquiorra closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket before breathing a sigh of relief and leaning his head back against the wall. It worked. He fought the triumphant smirk and opened the door at his right, walking into Grimmjow's room. He leaned against the door after he closed it, watching Grimmjow's sleeping form, calm for once. It was the drugs, Grimmjow was so drugged up that Ulquiorra almost crumpled under his weight helping him into his house and up the stairs. Thank god Grimmjow's foster parents, Gin and Rangiku Ichimaru, were away for the weekend and Grimmjow's little brother Luppi was at a friend's house, or things would have gotten much more colorful. Grimmjow and Luppi were actual biological brothers, three years apart, but as much as they didn't get along with each other, after their parents died, Luppi had refused to go to any foster family if he wasn't with Grimmjow, so Gin and Rangiku had taken them both in.

"Is the sky coming down yet?" Grimmjow asked groggily, his eyes still closed. It seemed he wasn't as asleep as Ulquiorra thought.

"No, he thinks I'm staying with Ichigo for the night," Ulquiorra said, remembering that he had to tell that to the redhead and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Jesus, I'm starving," Grimmjow said, squeezing his eyes shut and pinching the bridge of his nose before cracking one eye to glare at the limp arm lying at his side.

Ulquiorra paused, amusement crossing his face. He distinctly remembered the doctor telling him that Grimmjow wouldn't be hungry for a while and that it was normal if he didn't eat, but Grimmjow was Grimmjow.

"I'll get you something," Ulquiorra said quietly, pulling the door open as he finished dialing Ichigo's number.

Ulquiorra pinned the phone between his shoulder and ear, kicking himself for leaving the Bluetooth Aizen had gotten him for his birthday at home as he layered every sort of meat, cheese and cracker he could find in the fridge on a plate.

Ichigo picked up on the other end, and Ulquiorra could hear the shifting of blankets and some groaning before Ichigo muttered, "What?" into the phone. He sounded like he had a pillow down his throat.

"Kurosaki, I need to ask you—"

"Ulquiorra, do you know what goddamn **time** it is?" Ichigo chopped him off rudely, and Ulquiorra could hear a muffled thump as Ichigo fell back into his pillow and then a slow sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I know, you're at my house tonight, right?"

"Yes—"

"Fine, and we had pancakes in the morning, goodnight," Ichigo snapped before hanging up roughly. Ulquiorra hung up, not fazed by Ichigo's usual attitude at being woken up this late. He balanced the platter in one hand and a glass of milk in the other and started back up the stairs.

Ulquiorra pushed the door open with his shoulder, pausing for a second in the doorway. This time, Grimmjow really was asleep. His chest was rising and falling evenly, quieter than the whir of the fan in the window and his head was lolling slightly to the side, his mouth askew.

Ulquiorra set the tray and the milk down on the bedside table, knowing that Grimmjow would wake up in an hour or two and that he would be hungry when he did, and sat on the edge of Grimmjow's bed. He reached out, placing his hand gingerly on Grimmjow's cheek, staring at the bandages around Grimmjow's arm. Seventy-two stitches to completely sew up the gash in his upper arm, and another one hundred and forty to sew up his chest. The knife had gone right through the muscle of his arm and almost to the bone. The doctor had told Grimmjow six weeks of physical therapy, but they would be lucky if they got him to go to five weeks, and that was without Ulquiorra pushing him to go.

Ulquiorra smiled slightly again. He couldn't believe this, the boy who ran from the cops even though he was innocent because the chase was a thrill, was the same boy who had jumped into a dark alleyway to save a strange girl from a couple of street thugs before they were even able to touch her, and then so thoroughly beat them that the police found them all later unconscious in the alley. Grimmjow would never stop surprising Ulquiorra.

_Flashback (Two Years Ago)_

_Ulquiorra looked around him, trying to see through the crowded room, filled to the brim with milling people, dancing, talking and shouting over the blaring music. Ulquiorra hated these types of things; he still wasn't even sure why he'd come tonight. He had his license, he could technically leave any time he wanted, but he didn't have anything else to do out and if he went home now his foster parents, Sosuke and Momo Aizen would be worried that someone brought alcohol or a gun into the dance. The damage was done, he was stuck here._

_Ulquiorra looked again through the crowd to the electric-blue hair of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez._

_Grimmjow, a freshman, only fifteen years old while Ulquiorra was going to be seventeen soon, had a wild grin on, the same one he wore when he was playing basketball or soccer, the same one he had on when an adrenaline rush was coming, the same one he had while dancing at these types of things. Grimmjow fit here, Ulquiorra did not. It wasn't that Ulquiorra was unpopular, he had girls raving after him—hell, three had already asked him to dance tonight and four others had offered him some sort of food or drink—but he didn't have the right personality, unlike Grimmjow, who had a panther beneath his human skin._

_Grimmjow was the boy that gave teachers the finger in the middle of class and laughed about it later when he was being threatened with suspension. He was the boy who wore chains on his school uniform pants and biker gloves to school. He was the boy who died his hair electric blue and got a gothic number six tattooed on his back._

_Ulquiorra smiled quietly at another girl and politely turned down the drink she was holding out to him, gesturing to the one in his hand, as he wouldn't have been heard over the music. She shrugged before walking away, though she did look slightly hurt. Well that was her fault, she should have made sure that he __**needed**__ one first._

_Ulquiorra looked back over to Grimmjow, watching the way he grinned and danced, blending perfectly with the crowd at the same time that he stuck out. Ulquiorra felt his throat tighten as yet another two girls came over to hang on his arms as he danced, but he only sipped his drink, not allowing it to show on his face._

_Ulquiorra looked sharply away when Grimmjow looked back over to him and caught his eye, burying his nose in his drink again. He prayed that he wasn't blushing, this was the __**third**__ time tonight he and Grimmjow had met eyes like that._

_And __**no**__, he did __**not**__ like Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez._

_Later_

_Ulquiorra sighed quietly, taking in his first real breath of air as he stepped out of the hot, crowded house of someone from school. He was pretty sure it was someone in his class, but other than that…_

_As Ulquiorra walked to his car, he was vaguely aware of someone right behind him, walking very close for not interacting with him. A quick nonchalant glance over the side of his shoulder and he spotted the electric blue hair, bobbing as Grimmjow walked. His hands were loose in his pockets and he looked tired for what it was worth._

_Ulquiorra shook his head and pulled his key out of his pocket, slipping it into the car door and turning it with a small click. A glance in his other direction told him that Grimmjow was walking to the beat up truck that had parked two cars down from him that was covered in dirt and rust, missing the glass in one of its windows and with no side mirrors anymore. Ulquiorra could see one of Nnoitra's eye patches on the dashboard._

_In eighth grade Nnoitra Jiruga had gotten into a car accident with his uncle. He'd been forced to miss three months of school, which had made him stay back a year, moving him from Ulquiorra's grade to Grimmjow's, and had lost his left eye. Ulquiorra had always thought staying back a year would be devastating, but as Grimmjow was Nnoitra's best friend he had no qualms in moving into the eldest Jaegerjaquez's class. Nnoitra was ridiculously tall, standing so tall that even Yasutora "Chad" Sado, who stood at 6'5", had to look up to see him, and he was lanky, so much so that he had earned the nickname from Grimmjow, the "spoon"._

_Nnoitra, having stayed back a year, was able to drive and must have driven Grimmjow in. That was why Grimmjow walk walking this way, and only that._

_Ulquiorra moved his hand to the door, desperately keeping his head bent so that Grimmjow didn't meet his eyes again this night. He was flustered as it was. Ulquiorra tightened his grip on the door handle, waiting until Grimmjow passed before he opened his door so he didn't bump into the taller boy. He was so short, while Nnoitra stood almost two feet above him Grimmjow was still six and a half inches taller than him. It at least made the electric blue eyes of the fifteen year old easy to avoid at school._

_Ulquiorra waited, tracking the steps walking behind him. They grew closer, and then directly behind him, and he waited for them to pass for a second before blinking. They hadn't passed him; they'd stopped right behind him._

_Ulquiorra straightened, ignoring the slight drizzle as he looked back slowly over his shoulder and straight into the shockingly blue eyes. Suddenly, Ulquiorra felt a strong hand clamp down on his shoulder and he was spun harshly, his back slammed up against the wet, black paint of his car, and a muscular chest was pressed against him, pinning him against his car as a pair of warm, rough lips slammed over his._

_Ulquiorra was frozen; wide-eyed and stunned motionless. He couldn't have moved if he'd tried, with the combination of Grimmjow flattening him against his car, pressing him back so he fit better to the shape of the civic, and his own shock, holding him fast in the position he was in._

_Nothing moved, and then Grimmjow shifted after a moment, pulling back and hovering above Ulquiorra for a moment, a light pink dusting his cheeks. Ulquiorra watched as Grimmjow seemed to be forcing himself to look back into his emerald eyes, and then gave up and stepped away, letting go of Ulquiorra's arm and shoulder as he marched to Nnoitra's car just as the lanky teen stalked by, slightly hunched, his hands in his pockets, looking extremely bored. They climbed into the car, Nnoitra started it with a loud rumble and a small cloud of smoke, and they pulled away into the night, disappearing into the rain, Grimmjow pointedly looking the other way as they drove._

_Ulquiorra stood in the drizzle long after it had turned into rain and most people were running for their cars. Thunder cracked over his head and Ulquiorra blinked himself out of his daze, climbing with some difficulty into his car and sitting, dripping water onto his seat, as he stared straight ahead, replaying what had just happened over and over in his mind until he was dizzy._

_Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez had kissed him._

_Next Day_

_Grimmjow must have been drunk. That was the only explanation. Someone must have snuck alcohol into the dance. Grimmjow must have mistaken him for a girl, he was small and slim after all, and then he just… just…_

_Ulquiorra quickly reached down for something nonexistent on the floor, desperately hiding the blush on his face. The bell rang and Ulquiorra was instantly out of his seat. He didn't want to talk to anyone because they would most likely mention the dance and that wild fire would spread across his cheeks, so the only solution was to leave and get to his next class and not talk to anyone. They could think he was sick or something. _

_So far so good, he'd already run into Grimmjow once this morning, but thank goodness he'd looked away in time and gone down a different hallway before he did something embarrassing. So far so good, until he walked out of the classroom, turned the corner and walked straight into the muscular chest of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, Nnoitra standing beside him, the large mocking grin spread on his face. _

_How had he run into him? Grimmjow didn't usually walk this way! Ulquiorra floundered for a second, looking between the floor and Grimmjow's unsure and annoyed expression before he gripped his shoulder bag tighter and ducked around Grimmjow, until Grimmjow stepped back into his path, blocking his way._

Ok, calm, don't blush and everything will be ok._ "Please move, Jaegerjaquez," he said firmly, looking straight into Grimmjow's bright eyes and watching how something… unconfident flashed behind the deep blue color. "You're going to make me late."_

_Ulquiorra angled himself to move around Grimmjow again, about to breathe in relief when a hand four times the size of his own clamped down on his upper arm and yanked him harshly back, forcing him to stumble backwards as Grimmjow dragged him through the hallway of wide-eyed students and into a deserted music room where he pushed Ulquiorra up against a wall after locking the door._

"_Dammit! Give me some sort of response!" Grimmjow barked, his hands up on either side of Ulquiorra's head, blocking his escape. "Show some emotion for goddamn once! I can't ever tell what you're thinking because your face is like a fucking mask! I can't tell if you've been ignoring me when I tried to catch your eye for the past week on purpose or if it's just because you're dense! And you're acting like nothing happened last night for Christ fucking sake—"_

_Ulquiorra didn't know what made him do it. Maybe it was the fear that someone would hear them outside, or that Grimmjow would get physical, or that Nnoitra would walk in and things would get ugly between him and Grimmjow, but Ulquiorra dropped his bag, letting it land unceremoniously on the floor, and took the two steps forward to close the gap between them so he wasn't pinned up against the wall. He clapped his hands to the sides of Grimmjow's face, shocking the blue-haired boy into silence, stood up on his tiptoes and yanked Grimmjow down the other three and a half inches to his lips._

_Grimmjow was stunned to say the least, but Ulquiorra didn't give him any time to catch his thoughts. He forced Grimmjow to bend down another inch so that he had the upper hand and ran his tongue over Grimmjow's lips. That was all it took before Grimmjow closed his eyes and pushed Ulquiorra back into the wall, his lips moving against the pale teen's as he placed his hands back on the wall, much rougher this time._

_The bell rang above their heads, sharp and shrill, but neither paid any attention to it. It wasn't part of the moment, they couldn't even hear it, and Ulquiorra honestly didn't give a damn if he was late, or even missed the entire next class._

Part one of a two-parter!

Start thinking about if you want an epilogue or not (even though you haven't finished yet at this point)!

~Fireserpent14


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own anything but my ideas.

Three Weeks After The Hospital

Ulquiorra tipped his head back into the spring breeze, smelling the clear air before Grimmjow ruined it with his swearing as he readjusted his bag on his shoulder. Honestly, the teenager was worse than **any** sailor. Grimmjow had finally come back to school three days ago, two and a half weeks after getting his arm and chest sewn up at the hospital he was finally fit enough to come back to the strenuous atmosphere of school, and all Ulquiorra could say was thank god he didn't miss any more time. Grimmjow was already confused enough in every class as it was from missing this much school. He had extra lessons every day after school with every one of his teachers and even then Ulquiorra was tutoring him for an hour after his lessons to get him back up to where his class was.

Ulquiorra looked over curiously, hearing a basketball bouncing against the blacktop in a steady rhythm, and he knew who it would be even before he saw them.

Grimmjow was bouncing the ball on a slow beat with the arm that was supposedly—according to the physical therapist—going to be useless for at least another two weeks, watching Nnoitra over his shoulder as the taller teen defended the hoop. Both of them had discarded their uniform shirts, Grimmjow catching the eyes of passers by not because he was so much more built than Nnoitra, but because of the enormous jagged scars running down the length of his chest and tracing around the outside of his left arm. Nnoitra's eye patch was also laying on top of their shirts, revealing the dark, empty eye socket as Nnoitra watched Grimmjow's movements.

"Come on, Grimm-kitty," Nnoitra taunted Grimmjow, an enormous maniacal smile on his face as he followed Grimmjow's movements carefully. "How you going to beat me with a gimpy arm? Huh?" Grimmjow's smile was just as wild and excited as he looked for an opening to get around Nnoitra.

"You're so lucky, Ulquiorra."

Ulquiorra turned to the voice behind him, finding Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose and Apache, three girls from Grimmjow's graduating class watching Grimmjow as he danced back and forth, trying to get past Nnoitra who blocked his every move with his long arms. Halibel was standing beside them, a tall but quiet girl from Ulquiorra's class who had breasts big enough to smother any normal man, but she wasn't watching Grimmjow like the other three. Ulquiorra noticed in almost surprise that she was watching Nnoitra instead of the blue-haired junior.

He sighed again, fixing the weight of the heavy bag on his shoulder. He hated the end of the year, teachers always gave the most work, and while that wasn't a problem time-wise or intellectually, it was terrible on his shoulder and spine.

"I would totally ask Grimmjow out if he wasn't gay," Mila-Rose continued, and Apache nodded while Sun-Sun just continued to watch, her mouth behind her long sleeves as usual. Halibel stayed quiet, her eyes tracking the way Nnoitra moved behind Grimmjow.

Grimmjow suddenly faked a left and ducked under Nnoitra's arm as he swung for the ball, darting for the hoop as close to the ground as he could get, using Nnoitra's weakness, and jumped for a lay-up with his supposedly useless arm, rolling his shoulder easily after the ball fell through the hoop. Nnoitra scooped it up and started bouncing it back and forth between his hands, undeterred even though Grimmjow had scored. Grimmjow slid his feet apart in front of Nnoitra, checking it before he went immediately into guarding the hoop. A thin sheen of sweat glistened off their bodies as Nnoitra ran for the hoop, easily dunking it with his height though Grimmjow almost knocked it out of his hands.

Ulquiorra fought the smile tugging at his lips, glad that Nnoitra could really push Grimmjow to his best and beyond even when he was supposed to be doing terribly. His arm was supposed to be hanging at his side now and lifting two-pound weights at the physical therapist's, but Grimmjow had once told Ulquiorra, completely seriously, that he would rather die than let Nnoitra be better at anything than him. Nnoitra pushed Grimmjow past his limits so easily, and Ulquiorra was just glad to see that Grimmjow loved it.

Grimmjow smacked the ball out of Nnoitra's grip, running back to the half-court line before he ran under Nnoitra's long arms again and dunked the ball. Grimmjow reached for the ball as it rolled to a stop on the blacktop before Nnoitra swiped it away, and then the blue-haired teen spotted Ulquiorra, a grin spreading across his face as he jogged over.

"Hey," he said breathlessly, panting from the heat under the almost-summer sun.

"Are you ready?" Ulquiorra asked quietly, switching his bag to his other shoulder to try and lessen the weight on his spine.

"Yeah, hang on," Grimmjow told him before nodding to Sun-Sun, Mila-Rose and Apache as he jogged past them to retrieve his shirt and school bag.

Nnoitra trudged over, bouncing the ball lazily back and forth between his hands as he watched Grimmjow trying to get his shirt on, though it was sticking to his arms from the sweat.

"Hey, Emo," he said casually, making Ulquiorra glare, before turning to Halibel. "Hey," he nodded, grinning. She nodded back, but said nothing, though Ulquiorra noticed that she gripped her books just a little bit tighter, and then turned to leave, the other three girls following her.

Ulquiorra watched Nnoitra's eyes follow her as she left before he shifted his bag again, looking down as he said, "You should ask her out."

Nnoitra blinked, looking at him with one eyebrow raised before he cackled with laughter. "You crazy? She's a senior."

"So am I," Ulquiorra said disinterestedly, looking over to Grimmjow. Nnoitra blinked, but didn't say anything else.

"We'll have to walk," Ulquiorra told Grimmjow when the taller teen jogged back over. "My car is getting some brake work done."

Grimmjow shrugged. "That's fine," he said before bending down and taking Ulquiorra's bag off his shoulder, swinging it over his own.

"Grimmjow!" Ulquiorra protested, making a grab for his bag but Grimmjow just turned away, a mischievous grin on his face. "I'm not helpless."

"I know," Grimmjow said, turning around and walking away. Ulquiorra sighed and broke into a jog to catch up to his taller teen. Stubborn. He looked at Grimmjow out of the corner of his eye for a moment and after determining that he wouldn't collapse under the ridiculous weight of his bag, he reached out carefully and took Grimmjow's hand, lacing their fingers together, smiling slightly as he saw Grimmjow smirk out of the corner of his eye.

Two Weeks Later

The light rain splashed around their feet, soaking their socks, shoes and ankles as they ran through the new puddles in the street. Ulquiorra held the grocery bag awkwardly to his chest, two more hanging off his right arm and one of Grimmjow's bags on his left arm. Grimmjow was only holding one of the grocery bags, mostly preoccupied with holding his coat above their heads and keeping them from getting completely drenched. Of all the times it had to rain, it had to be when Ulquiorra's civic was again in the shop for its useless brakes when they were out food shopping for their families.

Grimmjow growled at the sky as it turned blacker and the rain went from a light drizzle to a small monsoon and lead Ulquiorra under the awning of a small convenient store, which was naturally closed.

Grimmjow sighed and dropped his bag next to the bench outside the store, shaking his jacket to get the excess water off.

"I hate your car," he muttered, flopping heavily onto the bench and taking a carton of milk out of one of the grocery bags, drinking straight from it. As usual, Grimmjow had gotten three cartons, one for his family and two for him. Ulquiorra smirked, looking away so Grimmjow couldn't see him. Grimmjow's love for any sort of dairy wasn't unknown, but it was still funny. Half of the gallon of milk was gone already. And Ulquiorra couldn't exactly disagree with him; he needed a new car.

"Looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while… unless you want to run back to the store and buy an umbrella," Grimmjow offered, one eyebrow raised.

Ulquiorra looked up to the sky and the unrelenting rain before turning around and sitting down next to Grimmjow on the bench. It didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon.

"…Well, I'm graduating this year. My grades are high enough," Grimmjow broke the silence after a minute.

"Courtesy of me."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Grimmjow smiled devilishly before leaning over and kissing Ulquiorra's cheek, making him blush.

After missing three weeks from his injuries in the knife fight, Grimmjow's grades, which were usually C's and B's, were D's and F's from how much work he had missed. In a few classes he'd even failed a test or a project he was so confused. But with his extra classes after school he'd brought his grades back up to their usual levels and then Ulquiorra had continued tutoring him even after he'd completed all of his missed work and Grimmjow had managed to jump his grades up to all B's and one A with only two weeks to go before graduation.

Ulquiorra leaned against Grimmjow's side and relaxed, molding his body against Grimmjow's chest as the taller boy swung one arm over his shoulder—his injured arm, Ulquiorra could feel the thick scar even through both of their shirts. Ulquiorra closed his emerald eyes, just listening to the sound of Grimmjow's breathing, matching the beat of the rain on the road. He hated to admit it, or even remember it, but for a split second at the hospital when he'd seen Grimmjow sitting there covered in blood, he'd been afraid that it would be the last time he'd be able to hear Grimmjow breathing. He couldn't explain what a calming sound it was.

"…I'm going to miss you next year."

College. Ulquiorra had been trying not to think about how little he'd see Grimmjow once he started college. Grimmjow still had one more year in high school, and even then he could go to a different college.

"I'll still be around," he said quietly, his voice firm. "I'll always visit and I can keep helping you with your studies."

"…Yeah…" Grimmjow said, something off about his voice, but Ulquiorra didn't have time to think about it before he leapt to the other side of the bench, almost flying in his haste when he recognized the car pulling up in the distance.

The sleek, black Aston Martin slowed to a stop, the tinted windows rolling down to reveal Ulquiorra's foster parents, Sosuke and Momo Aizen.

Aizen did **not** look happy. He was smiling, but it was the dangerous, strained smile. Ulquiorra had actually never seen his foster father mad before, just… dangerously polite, and this was one of those times. Momo on the other hand just looked unsure and even nervous, but whether it was about him and Grimmjow being together or how Aizen would react, Ulquiorra wasn't sure.

"Ulquiorra?" Momo asked finally, breaking the tension.

"I-I…"

"We ran into each other at the store and decided to walk home together because Ulquiorra didn't have an umbrella and my coat was big enough for both of us," Grimmjow said calmly, holding up his coat to show Aizen and Momo, his other arm draped over the back of the bench. They hadn't. They both needed to go and went together, but Ulquiorra's foster parents didn't need to know that.

"Well if you both would like to get in, we can give you a ride home, Grimmjow. There's no reason for you to need to walk home in the rain," Aizen said, the strained smile still prominent on his face.

Ulquiorra and Grimmjow jammed their bags into the back seat with them, scrambling to get in as fast as possible to keep the food out of the rain and to not annoy Aizen any more than they had to. Ulquiorra wasn't missing for a second how annoyed Aizen looked to having Grimmjow sitting next to his 'son'. Ulquiorra had been living with the Aizens since he was eight, it was only natural that they would feel protective, but Ulquiorra wasn't swayed on his opinion that this was just a little over the top. At least they weren't being rude to Grimmjow, but that could have been because they knew Gin and Rangiku personally.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Aizen," Grimmjow said quietly, putting the grocery bags in between him and Ulquiorra so he didn't get kicked out of the car.

"Of course," Aizen smiled politely, his grip slightly tight on the steering wheel as he started down the road.

"Any time you need a ride, honey. We live so close, it's right on our way," Momo chirped, thankfully not as against Grimmjow as Aizen was. At least she knew Grimmjow had good points. Ulquiorra liked his foster parents, they were nice, caring and didn't **hate** Grimmjow, they just thought he was a bad influence because he was rough and almost always injured. Ulquiorra didn't think Grimmjow was a good influence, he whole-heartedly agreed with them on that, but he wasn't trying to be like the younger teenager either.

Grimmjow thanked them again after they had pulled into his driveway, climbing out to grab his things easier.

"I'll help you carry your things in," Ulquiorra snatched one of the bags before Grimmjow could take it and climbed out of the car before either of his foster parents could stop him. "I'll be back in a minute," he said and shut the door before Momo could say whatever she was going to and trotted around the car to catch up to Grimmjow.

Ulquiorra sighed, placing the bag on the countertop as Grimmjow started to put the food away, smirking as he remembered setting up the huge tray of food on this counter for Grimmjow after coming back from the hospital. Grimmjow had only slept another hour after falling asleep before waking up and inhaling the entire tray, then asking for more milk when he had finished.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow," Ulquiorra said, turning to go before his Momo came in after him. He almost gasped, his eyes going wide as Grimmjow grabbed his arm suddenly and turned him back, pressing their lips together and threading his hand into Ulquiorra's black hair.

Ulquiorra spluttered, pushing the blue-haired teen away and stepping back, his cheeks tinged lightly pink, which he was sure was showing up beautifully because of how pale he was. "My foster parents might come in."

"So what?" Grimmjow asked bluntly, making Ulquiorra pause.

…Yeah, so what?

Ulquiorra reached up and grabbed the back of Grimmjow's neck, pulling him down as he stood up on his toes to meet Grimmjow's lips, thrusting his tongue deep into his mouth. Grimmjow's hands were instantly at his back, battling him back with his own tongue.

Ulquiorra finally pulled back, a little winded as he smiled lightly up at Grimmjow. "I'll see you tomorrow," he repeated, kissing Grimmjow once more lightly on the lips before walking to the door, breathing deeply to calm down and straightening his shirt.

Gin and Rangiku were pulling into the driveway when Ulquiorra stepped outside, Luppi climbing out of the car after them. Ulquiorra grimaced mentally as Luppi smirked, the same devilish smirk that Grimmjow had, though Luppi was currently smirking for a completely different reason. Ulquiorra unconsciously braced himself.

Gin and Aizen nodded politely to each other as Ulquiorra walked back to the car, Momo and Rangiku waving happily, though Rangiku just a little more eccentrically.

Ulquiorra sucked in a deep breath, waiting for whatever Luppi was going to say thing time as he walked by him.

"Will I have to disinfect the house because you were making out?" Luppi asked evilly, just quiet enough so that only Ulquiorra could hear him, a clear glint in his eyes as he pulled his school bag out of the car. "Or did you do more with him and I'll just have to burn the kitchen? You know Rangiku wont be happy, we just bought a new stove."

"Hello, Luppi," Ulquiorra said without stopping, climbing into the back seat and praying that Luppi wouldn't say anything else when the younger boy suddenly caught the door, preventing it from being shut, and leaned into Ulquiorra's ear.

"You'll have to get him something special this year for his birthday, he's turning eighteen after all. Though I suppose you could just come as yourself, seeing as you'll both be the… **legal age** to go all the way… if you haven't already," he pulled back slowly and closed the door for Ulquiorra, smiling and waving happily as Aizen pulled away. He'd gotten Ulquiorra flustered at that last remark, and he knew it and was enjoying it.

Ulquiorra groaned mentally. He hated being Luppi's source of amusement.

One Year Later

Ulquiorra was driving back to his old high school in his new Toyota Highlander—without faulty brakes—with Halibel in the passenger seat. Ulquiorra had specifically chosen the larger car over anything smaller because he knew at some point Ichigo would be asking him to cart around him and most likely his new girlfriend, Rukia Kuchiki, and some of his friends for how many times Ulquiorra had 'stayed over his house' when he was actually at Grimmjow's, and he knew if he was going to fit people like Renji Abarai, Uryu Ishida or Orihime Inoue (which he had found out was the girl Grimmjow had saved) in his car, let along Sado, or Chad or whatever his name was, he would need a big car. Ichigo was such a simpleton. Ulquiorra would have been asking for the redhead's left arm if he had asked for as much as Ulquiorra had over the years.

Halibel, who also had no car, was in the passenger seat because Ulquiorra was driving her home for the vacation, but first they were picking up Grimmjow at the high school. Grimmjow had his own car now, but opted not to drive it whenever it could because it meant Ulquiorra was coming home from college to visit and would pick him up.

Ulquiorra pulled into the school parking lot, looking around for Grimmjow and immediately relaxing when he saw the electric blue color over all of the other heads of the students. The only one who stood taller than him now was Nnoitra. If possible, Grimmjow had grown another inch, though thank god Ulquiorra had also so there was still only six and a half inches difference between them, but Grimmjow still stood at 6'5" now.

Grimmjow was leaning up against the side of the building talking to Nnoitra and another kid named Coyote Starrk, though Starrk seemed to be doing more sleeping than talking. Ulquiorra only recognized him from the honors list when he was in high school last year. Starrk had been the highest in the class, though Ulquiorra was baffled as to how he did it, with how much sleeping he did.

Grimmjow immediately pushed away from the brick wall when he saw Ulquiorra's car, waving to Nnoitra over his shoulder as he jogged over. Ulquiorra almost smiled, but it turned into a confused blink as Halibel suddenly got out of the car.

"Do you want me to wait?" Ulquiorra asked unsurely.

"No, thank you for driving me hear," she crossed her arms, crossing the parking lot to where Grimmjow had been standing, nodding to Grimmjow as they passed. Ulquiorra watched as she walked up to Nnoitra, nodding to Starrk who just cracked an eye to say hi before going back to sleep.

"…So…" Nnoitra drawled, making Ulquiorra strain to hear what he was saying. "A little birdie told me that I should ask you out."

Grimmjow climbed noisily into the car, drowning out Halibel's response much to Ulquiorra's annoyance as he threw his bag roughly into the back. Grimmjow let his head flop back over the seat and muttered, "I hate school," grumbling incoherently for another minute about the work and how much it weighed.

He sat back up suddenly to cup Ulquiorra's cheek in his hand and turn him into a kiss, smiling when they pulled apart. Ulquiorra quickly forgave him for making him miss what Halibel said, swallowing embarrassedly and shifting his grip on the steering wheel when he straightened back up.

Nnoitra banged on the hood suddenly as he walked by, making them jump. Ulquiorra immediately noticed that he had Halibel's hand in his own, though it was kind of hard not to.

"Keep it PG!" Nnoitra shouted, loud enough to be heard for the windshield and for the rest of the parking lot to hear. "We're at school!"

Grimmjow instantly flipped him off as he and Halibel walk to Nnoitra's car, a new truck that no longer spewed smoke when it started. Ulquiorra smothered his smile at Grimmjow's muttering and pulled out of the parking lot, ignoring the people wide-eyed, glaring at him for steeling Grimmjow, or glaring at Grimmjow for steeling him. He waited until they were on the road, sparing Grimmjow as much heckling as he could tomorrow at school, before leaning over and kissing Grimmjow's cheek. Grimmjow instantly turned a nice shade of pink. He loved how cute Grimmjow looked when he blushed.

Six Years Later

Ulquiorra pushed himself up onto his side, leaning on one elbow as he looked down at Grimmjow sleeping on his stomach, tracing the gothic 6number six tattoo on Grimmjow's back idly. He fixed the blankets around them and picked his pillow up off the floor to get more comfortable even though he was so sweaty he was sticking to the sheets.

Pantera and Murcielago, their two cats, jumped up on the bed, Pantera rubbing vigorously against Ulquiorra's shoulder until Ulquiorra gave in and pet him. Grimmjow had a soft spot for cats, so when he had graduated from high school and he and Ulquiorra had gotten an apartment together Ulquiorra was not at all surprised when Grimmjow had one day brought home two stray kittens barely four weeks old after his morning classes in college.

Grimmjow had graduated from college two years ago and had just turned twenty-four, while Ulquiorra had graduated three years ago and was now twenty-five. Somewhere along the way Ulquiorra had gotten out of his foster parents that they didn't care about him being gay, which had initially been kind of a surprise to him, they just didn't think Grimmjow was the best person to be with, but Ulquiorra honestly—as Grimmjow would say—didn't give a flying fuck. They could think whatever they wanted about Grimmjow, it wasn't going to change how Ulquiorra felt about the brasher man. At least Gin and Rangiku loved him. Rangiku nearly smothered him with love every time they visited so that Grimmjow almost had to resuscitate him, and naturally, Luppi got a kick out of this, so he wasn't against Ulquiorra being part of the family.

Ulquiorra looked up in confusion at the doorbell echoing up the stairs from downstairs. The one thing he would never miss about the apartment was the doorbell, which was so quiet you could actually sleep through it if you wanted to and make the person outside come back in the morning. The house had come with the air raid siren doorbell because a deaf old couple had lived in it before moving to Florida, so they would have to put in another one. Who the heck was coming to their house at 1:30 in the morning anyway?

Ulquiorra got out of bed, pulling on his boxers as he did. He knew his clothes were somewhere around here, but where the heck were they? He threw aside Grimmjow's pants, looking for the offending clothing before the person at the door rang the doorbell again. Ulquiorra froze as Grimmjow groaned, only relaxing after Grimmjow just rolled onto his side and a low snore rolled off his tongue. Ulquiorra glared at the door for a moment before giving in and pulling Grimmjow's t-shirt over his head, running out of the bedroom and down the stairs before they rang again and actually woke Grimmjow. Grimmjow's shirt was like a dress on him, it was long enough to keep his pride, but he still wasn't too pleased about being woken up at this hour, even though he was already technically awake.

Ulquiorra opened the three needlessly enormous locks and pulled open the door to reveal Rukia and Ichigo on the doorstep, both in their uniforms with Hisana, their four month old daughter asleep in Rukia's arms.

"Sorry for coming so late," Ichigo waved sheepishly and Ulquiorra nodded to say it was ok. Looking at Hisana, suddenly it wasn't so bad to be disturbed at this hour.

"Could you watch her for the day?" Rukia asked hopefully, even though Ulquiorra always said yes. "We got called away again."

Ichigo and Rukia, who was now Rukia Kurosaki three years to the day tomorrow if Ulquiorra remembered correctly, were both police for the city. Rukia called them Shinigami, though Ulquiorra thought it would be a little weird to be called a death god for someone who worked to prevent death. Ichigo had said that was the point of why Rukia called them that, but Ulquiorra still thought it was stupid.

Rukia stepped forward and Ulquiorra held out his hands, carefully taking the tiny baby into his own arms and making sure she didn't wake up before he stepped back into the house and out of the chilly one AM air.

"It'll only be a day or so, we'll be back tomorrow morning at the latest," Ichigo said as he walked back to the cruiser, pulling the door open for Rukia as he always did, though she punched him lightly on the arm for it.

Ulquiorra watched them drive away before he shut the door, holding Hisana in the crook of his arm as he locked the three deadbolts on the door. He sat down at the table, rocking her gently as he did. This happened so often, Ulquiorra was used to it by now. Even though Ichigo and Rukia lived closer to some people, like that girl Orihime Inoue or Uryu Ishida, who was now living with his new girlfriend Nemu Mayuri, they still felt that Hisana was the safest with them. It must have been because of how close as friends Ichigo and Grimmjow were. After the first three times of Rukia and Ichigo bringing over a bag of baby food, clothing and diapers, Ulquiorra finally rolled his eyes and just went out to buy the stupid things. Hisana was over often enough during nights as well as days that Ulquiorra and Grimmjow had an entire shelf in the basement dedicated to baby food, formula, bottles, diapers and changes of Hisana's clothing. They even had a travel crib in the room next to them after Grimmjow had said flat out no, Hisana was not sleeping in their bed with them because he would roll over and squish her in the night.

Ulquiorra looked over to a groan from the hallway, finding Grimmjow leaning against the wall running his hand through his hair tiredly. He only had his shorts on, making the scars on his chest and arm very visible, dark red marks even after all these years. He didn't need to ask who it had been at the door with Hisana in Ulquiorra's arms.

"What?" Grimmjow asked when Ulquiorra didn't look away, trying to blink the sand out of his eyes. Pantera came bounding down the stairs, Murcielago striding in lazily after him as Pantera rubbed against Grimmjow's legs until the electric-blue-haired man picked the cat up and put it on his shoulders.

Ulquiorra looked back to Hisana, silent for a moment as he rocked her before he said, "Let's have a baby. Adopt."

"You want to have a baby?"

Ulquiorra nodded, almost dreading the response he didn't want to hear as he watched Hisana's tiny fist grip his forefinger in her sleep.

"All right." Grimmjow shrugged suddenly, walking around Ulquiorra to the fridge and taking out the milk. Pantera jumped off of his shoulders and onto the counter, waiting for Grimmjow to put out a saucer of milk while Murcielago just waited patiently on the floor.

Ulquiorra, shocked that the answer came so fast and strongly, almost kicked the table hard enough to break his toe when he jolted. His eyes snapped up to Grimmjow, but even though his lover wasn't looking at him, he could see no trace of uncertainty or a joke in his eyes.

"International or domestic?" Grimmjow continued, scratching Pantera's head after putting Murcielago's saucer on the floor.

Ulquiorra smiled slightly, biting the inside of his bottom lip to keep it from spreading too much as he looked back to Hisana. "…Just domestic."

Grimmjow downed his milk before yawning like an ape, scratching the back of his neck. "Come back to bed, I have to get up early tomorrow."

Much like Ichigo and Rukia's jobs in the police force, Grimmjow's job as a homicide detective had him up early and more often than not working crazy hours at night or on the weekends. Ulquiorra relished in the days that Grimmjow didn't get called in during the middle of the night so that they could just sleep. It wasn't that he didn't see Grimmjow, his hours during the workweek were normal, but—though he would never admit it—he was terrified that Grimmjow wouldn't come home one morning. Ulquiorra worked as a computer programmer, which wasn't nearly as strenuous and better when they had Hisana because he could work from home.

"I have to work too," Ulquiorra reminded him, shifting Hisana in his arms so he could stand.

"It's not nearly as early as I have to," Grimmjow said, almost smugly, and Ulquiorra rolled his eyes as he went back up the stairs.

Ulquiorra stripped out of Grimmjow's shirt after putting Hisana in her crib, climbing in next to Grimmjow and moving into his chest, sighing silently as the taller man's arms wrapped protectively around him and pulled him in closer.

Ulquiorra buried his face in Grimmjow's chest and whispered, "Thank you."

Grimmjow blinked, trying to look down at him, but Ulquiorra only hid his eyes.

"For what?"

"…Nothing."

I honestly didn't mean for it to be that long when I started, I just couldn't stop! :D Just be glad I broke it up into two chapters; it used to be one!

If people want an epilogue, go ahead and review and beg for it! ^^ I might just write one if enough people ask (singsong voice)

No, seriously, I loved writing it, so if you like it, I totally want to write an epilogue!

Also (for ) check out my profile page to vote on my pole, because if you're here, you're obviously a yaoi fan too!

If you're on MediaMiner, go ahead to my Fanfiction profile page to vote too!

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Check out my other stories, but just be warned that I am a Fujoshi.


	3. Epilogue

I don't own anything but my ideas. I think I like writing epilogues best. ^^

You begged, and I caved! No, thanks so much everyone for reading and reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it enough for me to write and epilogue because I really wanted to! Enjoy!

WARNING! This chapter contains lemon, wonderful citrusy goodness! So run if you aren't over 18! Run for your eyes!

Epilogue

Ulquiorra sighed, fighting not to roll his eyes as Grimmjow continued to grumble behind him as they walked into their house. Mutterings of "bastard", "egotistical" and "stick up his ass" could be distinguished from the other incoherent mumbling.

Ulquiorra set his foster parents' reference letter down on the computer desk and took out Ichigo and Rukia's as well as Nnoitra and Halibel's, Luppi's and Gin and Rangiku's and put them safely away in the filing cabinet, making a mental note to himself to mail them to their caseworker.

Ulquiorra walked around Grimmjow, tuning out his quiet ranting as he opened the fridge for dinner. They didn't have much because they would have stayed for dinner at Momo and Aizen's, but then Aizen and Grimmjow had to be their normal selves and set off an atom bomb. Oh yes, today had been **fun**.

_Flashback_

_Ulquiorra placed Ichigo and Rukia's reference letter in his bag along with Nnoitra and Halibel's and Gin and Rangiku's as Grimmjow pulled onto the long dirt driveway. Ulquiorra didn't know how Grimmjow had managed to do it, but he had also gotten Luppi to write a reference letter that wasn't rude and shooting them down at every sentence. Ulquiorra's jaw had almost hit the floor when he finished reading it and Luppi hadn't insulted him once, not even hiding inside jokes that no one else would understand. The world must have been ending. That or Grimmjow bribed him not to say anything rude about them or their caseworker, that would not have gone over well in the least._

_Grimmjow stopped the car in front of the old, beautiful three-story house and took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair._

"_You know, we don't __**really**__ need a reference letter from them. We could just say some shit about them not wanting to write one because of something like carpel tunnel syndrome or—"_

_Ulquiorra didn't even let Grimmjow finished that sentence before he got out and slammed the door loud enough to cut Grimmjow off. Only a moment later Grimmjow was at his side, taking another deep breath. _

"_Whether or not you get along with my foster father, Grimmjow," Ulquiorra said stiffly, ringing the doorbell as he reached the front step, "I am not going to lie about this to them and our caseworker and just show up for Christmas one year with a baby. We've put this off long enough as it is, we've already been working on the adoption process for three months, all of our paper work is in. My foster father doesn't hate you, he just thinks you're eccentric and not a good role model."_

"_Oh good," Grimmjow rolled his eyes, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Not a good role model, __**that'll **__really convince him when we ask him to write us a reference letter about how we'd be good parents."_

_Ulquiorra hid his smirk behind his hand and leaned forward so Grimmjow couldn't see it. How was it that Grimmjow could make him laugh in the most serious of times?_

"_Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, we haven't seen you in forever!" _

_The door burst open suddenly and Momo flew into Ulquiorra's arms, nearly knocking him back as she planted a kiss on each cheek before pulling Grimmjow down over a foot into a tight hug, kissing him twice on each cheek before she released them._

"_I'm sorry, but you two need to see us more often, come over for dinner every week or so, I just miss you both so much after all this time!"_

"_Mom," Ulquiorra said slowly as he followed her into the kitchen where something was cooking in the oven, "it's only been a month since your birthday, we stayed over the entire weekend then."_

"_Don't give me that, it's too long not to see my son!" she called over her shoulder, jogging to the bottom of the stairs. "Sosuke! Ulquiorra and Grimmjow are here!"_

_Ulquiorra could see a few lines starting to appear in his foster mother's face, but her smile was still as bright as ever and Ulquiorra knew that even as she grew older, she would never lose her brightness._

_Aizen walked down the stairs as Momo went back to chopping up vegetables, smiling lightly. _

"_Ulquiorra," Aizen said quietly, "it's nice to see you again. I don't think I'll ever really get used to you not being here anymore."_

_Aizen turned away to help Momo with the dinner, and Ulquiorra heard Grimmjow growl a little at being completely ignored. At least Grimmjow was nice to Aizen, Ulquiorra found it a little annoying that even after all this time his father was still acting like a two year old. Ulquiorra stamped on Grimmjow's toe anyway to shut him up before walking over to the counter._

"_Mom, Dad, Grimmjow and I have to tell you something."_

"_Oh my."_

_Ulquiorra looked up in confusion, kicking himself mentally when he saw Momo's expression. He'd forgotten to put on a happy face, now she was probably expecting him to tell her they'd been evicted or that Ichigo had been shot on duty or something._

"_Come on, we'll go sit down," she said, ushering everyone into the living room, pushing Grimmjow and Ulquiorra over to the couch while she pulled Aizen over to the loveseat with her, leaning forward with wide eyes as she waited for what she thought would be bad news from Ulquiorra._

_Ulquiorra swallowed, not exactly sure how to say this. With Rangiku and Gin it had been easy, they'd done it over the phone so Rangiku couldn't kill Ulquiorra in a hug, but Ulquiorra was face to face with both of his foster parents, one of which wasn't particularly fond of his lover. _

"_We…"_

_Nothing moved, everyone waiting for him to say more._

"_Grimmjow and I..." Ulquiorra tried again only to have his voice cut out._

_Grimmjow took his hand suddenly, giving it a squeeze and Ulquiorra took another breath. "Grimmjow and I have decided to adopt. We were wondering if you and Dad would write a reference letter for our caseworker."_

_Momo almost started to glow, the room literally got brighter around her as she squeaked our happily, "You're adopting?"_

_Ulquiorra braced himself for the hugs and kisses, and then Aizen said something even Ulquiorra would have hit him for._

_Aizen turned to face Grimmjow, and Grimmjow looked back at him, intrigued as to what Aizen wanted to say to him, because Aizen rarely said __**anything**__ to him. _

_Aizen looked him straight in the eye and in a clear voice said, "Do you think you can handle it?"_

_End Flashback_

It was a **miracle** Ulquiorra got Grimmjow out of the house before he blew. He'd had to drag and shove the taller man out by his ears, and it had taken him ten minutes to do it, but he'd gotten Grimmjow out of the house with his foster father unharmed.

Grimmjow had spent the rest of the visit out by the car, muttering and pacing as Ulquiorra was with his foster parents. Momo had done a little yelling at Aizen and hugging Ulquiorra—she even ran out to their car to hug Grimmjow—before she sat down and eagerly wrote a two-page reference letter. Ulquiorra had to stop her before she wrote more. Rangiku had been the same way; they'd gotten her letter and then immediately asked Gin to write one so they didn't have to try to cut down the fourteen page novella Grimmjow's foster mom had written.

Ulquiorra jolted suddenly as a pair of strong arms wove around his waist and Grimmjow started planting light kisses on his neck, right behind his collarbone. Ulquiorra closed his eyes, leaning back into the touch. He knew Grimmjow would take the dominant position he always did in just a second, but he was always amazed at how gentle Grimmjow could be.

Grimmjow gave Ulquiorra a light squeeze around his waist before two fingers began tugging at the buttons on Ulquiorra's shirt. Ulquiorra swallowed, he had enjoyed it at first but now this pace was just aggravatingly slow. He pulled out of Grimmjow's arms and pushed Grimmjow back by his shoulders, slammed his lips against the taller man's and yanked his t-shirt over his head.

His back was against the refrigerator before Grimmjow's shirt had even hit the floor, Grimmjow tearing at his shirt so Ulquiorra actually feared that this would be the last time wearing the piece of clothing.

But hell, who cared, it was a shirt. Ulquiorra slid it back over his shoulders and pushed Grimmjow backwards to the stairs, their lips never breaking contact.

Ulquiorra had just managed to strip out of the last of his clothes up by the bed before Grimmjow suddenly pulled out of the kiss—making Ulquiorra unconsciously growl possessively in protest—before he picked Ulquiorra up like he weight as much as a goose down pillow and tossed him easily onto his back on the bed. To Grimmjow, Ulquiorra probably did weight as much as a pillow.

Grimmjow climbed onto the bed on top of Ulquiorra, the devilish and wild smile Ulquiorra lost the use in his legs for wide on his face. Ulquiorra yanked him down into a kiss, one he was sure would leave a deep purple mark on his lips later, and Grimmjow leaned forward, pushing into him more and more every thrust.

"Your dad pisses me off so goddamn much," Grimmjow growled, every syllable matched with a thrust into Ulquiorra that left his grip on reality compromised.

Ulquiorra laughed breathlessly, "We'll have to go over there more oft—AAH!" he gasped, the use of his voice gone as well as his legs now as Grimmjow slammed into him, his aggressive side taking over.

Five Months Later

Ulquiorra gripped the bed sheets until they almost tore, his breathing so labored it was a wonder he was getting any oxygen at all. Grimmjow's chest was flat against his back, the taller man's hands playing with his nipples and pulling on his member.

And then Ulquiorra's vision went white a split second before a volcano erupted inside of him and Grimmjow groaned behind him, leaning his head into Ulquiorra's shoulder blades as Ulquiorra let his head drop to the pillow below him.

Grimmjow's hand moved sluggishly up to grip Ulquiorra's chin gently and turn him into a kiss, gentle and slow, and Ulquiorra nearly snapped his spine turning to he could hug Grimmjow.

Grimmjow pulled out of him and flipped to the side, pulling Ulquiorra into his chest as he laid down on the bed.

"Thank god we don't have Hisana tonight," Grimmjow panted, laughing quietly into Ulquiorra's neck. Ulquiorra just rolled his eyes.

The phone rang, making Ulquiorra wince with its loud shrill alarm, and he yanked it out of the cradle as fast as he could to save his eardrums.

"Hello?"

"Hello Ulquiorra, it's Lilynette."

Lilynette was Ulquiorra and Grimmjow's caseworker, who had been with them since they started their adoption process. Four months ago Ulquiorra had almost choked on his drink when she had called unexpectedly, automatically thinking that she was calling about a birthmother because all of their paperwork was in and they had sent in several reference letters. She had only called to check the spelling about Grimmjow's last name, and had since called six more times over the past five months to recheck the spelling of Jaegerjaquez.

"How are you?" Ulquiorra asked, pulling the covers up to his chest.

"Not bad, thanks. And how's Grimmjow? I was in the police office yesterday because I was sideswiped and I overheard that he's the detective on the Zommari Leroux homicide."

"Yes, so far it's going pretty well—ah!"

"Ulquiorra?"

"It's—it's nothing," Ulquiorra swatted Grimmjow, rubbing the spot on his neck the taller man had bitten. Grimmjow snickered and Ulquiorra smacked him again. "I… just burned myself on something I just took out of the microwave."

"All right, well I know it's late, actually I think it's past eleven now, but I have something to tell you. I just received a call about fifteen minutes ago actually."

"Yes?" Ulquiorra smacked Grimmjow away as he started to nibble on his neck again.

Ulquiorra settled back down into the pillows, not expecting much except another check on the spelling of his last name or something, and let Grimmjow's hand weave into his hair. Ulquiorra could tell Lilynette was stalling because her voice was wound like a spring but she was telling him about her dog, and during that time Grimmjow leaned up and started leaving a trail of kisses up Ulquiorra's chest and shoulder.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, relaxing into the touch and about to tune Lilynette out when all of a sudden the conversation switched drastically from her dog. Ulquiorra's eyes went as wide as the full moon blaring in through their window and shot up, cracking Grimmjow across the nose with his shoulder.

"What?" he asked breathlessly, throwing the covers back and scrambling out of bed. After tripping four times because he wasn't watching, he finally managed to wrestle Grimmjow's shirt over his head and nearly flew down the stairs, nodding before he remembered Lilynette couldn't see him. "A-All right, w-when did you say…?"

His fingers traced across the days of the upcoming week until he found the fifteenth. Friday, that was only three more days away.

"Yes, we're both completely free, Grimmjow has it off anyway. Thank you, Lilynette," Ulquiorra said, holding onto the counter for stability as he hung up, trying to keep his breathing even.

"Ow! The fuck was that for?" Grimmjow barked, walking into the kitchen and rubbing his nose tenderly.

Ulquiorra swallowed and turned to Grimmjow, so stunned he couldn't even remember how to smile.

"That was Lilynette…"

"…**Yeah**, I know, what'd she want?" Grimmjow rolled his eyes and picked the phone up off the counter to hang it back up.

"A… a birthmother picked us. She wants to meet us for lunch this Friday."

The phone slipped from Grimmjow's fingers, half way to the cradle, and clattered to the floor.

Ten Months Later

Ulquiorra woke to the sound of a small cry coming from the adjacent room. He pushed himself off of the bed and trudged into the nursery, rubbing his eyes as he did. He slid his hand under Nell's neck and back, lifting her carefully to his shoulder and rocking her.

He ran a hand gently through her light blonde hair, smiling as her cries went to small gurgles before he started down the stairs to make her a bottle.

To say he'd been shocked when a birthmother had picked him and Grimmjow—a gay couple with one of them a homicide detective—over every other straight, "normal" couple going through the adoption process in only eight months from the time they'd started adopting would be the understatement of the century. She was a young girl, barely seventeen, who was pretending to live with a friend while she was pregnant because she knew her family would disown her and she didn't want to give up the baby.

It certainly hadn't been a normal adoption process, but Ulquiorra couldn't complain in the slightest. When they'd met the girl she'd been a little iffy about Grimmjow at first, but after she tripped into oncoming traffic on the way out of the café and Grimmjow had somehow yanked her out of the way before anyone hit her, she'd practically made up her mind about them in that first hour.

When Ulquiorra had learned that she'd also been moving from house to house, living with one friend for about a week before she moved to the next friend's house for four months already so her family wouldn't see she was pregnant, he'd had her move in with them for the remaining five months of her pregnancy. It had taken her a little bit to warm up to Grimmjow's colorful language, but it didn't take long for her to look past it when she saw how protective and gentle he could be. They'd also hired her a tutor so she wouldn't miss any school for when she went back.

And five months later they had walked out of the hospital with Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck Jaegerjaquez. Her birthmother had picked her middle name, after the girl's own last name. Nell was now five months old with light blonde hair, just like her birthfather according to her birthmother, and was tiny just like her birthmother. She had a birthmark running across her nose to both of her cheeks and gentle hazel eyes that Ulquiorra had almost drowned in the first time she opened her eyes.

Ulquiorra took the bottle out of the microwave, shaking it and testing on his wrist while he balanced Nell on his shoulder before he tucked her into the crook of his arm and gave her the bottle. He turned to the sound of the front door, smirking at the sound of Grimmjow's whoop as he walked in the front door.

"You're late," he accused jokingly as Grimmjow came in and threw his bag onto the table. Grimmjow looked like he was walking on air. "It's after eleven."

"It's the damn paperwork!" Grimmjow pumped his fist in the air, making Ulquiorra raise his eyebrows. Grimmjow was never anything less than pissed about paperwork, unless he…

"You caught him, didn't you?" Ulquiorra asked, letting a small smile touch his lips.

"Son of a bitch thought he could hide forever!" Grimmjow yelled excitedly, pulling the milk from the fridge and drinking straight from the carton. "We caught him in his apartment, tried giving us some shit about not even knowing Zommari Leroux. My ass, the knife was right in his desk! Ha **ha**!"

Ulquiorra tried to congratulate him, but Grimmjow had slipped his tongue through his lips before he could blink, and when Ulquiorra came out of his ecstasy daze, his cheeks tinged slightly pink, Grimmjow had taken Nell and was feeding her, one of the most content looks Ulquiorra had seen since he solved the Haruto "Grand Fisher" Aro murder case on his face.

Ulquiorra smirked, settling down on the couch next to Grimmjow and leaning against his shoulder. He didn't even realize when he fell asleep.

_XXX_

_Ulquiorra looked around, placing the keys on the table before he walked up the stairs. It was about time to feed Nell, strange that she wasn't crying yet, she was usually right on schedule._

_Ulquiorra pushed open the door to her room and pulled back the covers on the tiny bump in the cradle._

_Empty. The crib was empty._

_Ulquiorra whirled around, the blanket slipping from his hand as he raced from the room. Grimmjow must have her, that was it Grimmjow had her and they were just sitting outside on the porch in the sun. Nell loved to watch the butterflies at the hydrangea; that was where they were._

_Ulquiorra pushed open the back door, but everything was black, so black he couldn't even see the porch._

_Ulquiorra yanked the phone up, dialing Grimmjow's cell phone and pressing the phone to his ear. He didn't take her to his work, did he? No, it was too dangerous, Grimmjow knew that._

_The number you have dialed does not exist, please try again._

_Ulquiorra looked at the phone for a moment before punching in the numbers, hanging up shakily when the same dead voice repeated it again over the phone._

_Ichigo would know where he was. Maybe they were watching Nell, like how they watched Hisana sometimes. Ulquiorra climbed into his car, barely managing to make it climb to fifteen miles an hour though he had the pedal floored._

_He clambered out of the car when he pulled up in front of the Kurosaki household, ringing the bell and trying not to break through a window. He was seriously on edge, though he prayed he was hiding it well enough. Kurosaki couldn't see him like that._

"_Ulquiorra!" Rukia said happily, pulling open the door. Ichigo was standing behind her holding Hisana on his hip._

"_Ichigo, Rukia, I'm looking for Grimmjow," Ulquiorra told them so fast it was a wonder they understood him at all._

_Rukia blinked. "…Who?"_

_Ulquiorra's calm smile fell from his face, his fist clenching by his side. "My… Grimmjow… he's been in the police force with Ichigo for a few years now… he was your friend in high school, Ichigo…"_

_Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You mean Renji Abarai? He just joined us about a year ago."_

"_No, I... I'm looking for Nell, I don't know where…"_

"_Ulquiorra, I don't know anyone named Grimmjow or Nell," Rukia said slowly. "Why don't you come in? We just sat down for dinner."_

_Ulquiorra took a slow step back. "N-Nell, the baby Grimmjow and I adopted five months ago, I can't find her…" he insisted._

"_Ulquiorra, is something wrong?" Ichigo asked, taking another step forward._

"_I-I have to…" Ulquiorra trailed off, looking around frantically before he stumbled back down the steps._

"_Ulquiorra, what's wrong?"_

_He didn't hear the next part of the question. He was running, anywhere, he had to find them. How could Ichigo not know Grimmjow? They'd been friends for years!_

_Ulquiorra gasped as the breath flew out of his chest, clutching at his shirt as everything went black around him. He couldn't breathe, and he couldn't find them. Where was Grimmjow? He needed…_

No one…

_Ulquiorra looked around for the voice, but everything was too black, he couldn't see._

No one wants you.

_Ulquiorra clapped his hands to his ears, desperately trying to block out the voice._

Your parents left you at that orphanage for a reason.

_He leaned forward, falling to his knees as he bit his lips so hard it started to bleed, his teeth clenched as the blood dripped down his chin._

You aren't any use to anyone.

"_No!" Ulquiorra shouted, shaking his head. "Grimmjow…!"_

You'll always be alone.

"_No! He won't leave!" Ulquiorra cried desperately into the darkness. There was no one to hear him. He was alone; he could feel the dark feeling in his chest slowly eating away at him. Someone, help…_

No one will pull you out of the darkness.

"_Shut up! Shut up! He won't leave!"_

He's gone.

"_**NO**__!"_

Ulquiorra gasped, shooting up in bed, his breath wild in his chest and his clothes soaked through with sweat. He threw the smothering covers away, tearing his shirt off and clutching at his shoulders, trying to will the dark feeling away. It was like a vine, creeping into his chest and strangling his heart.

"…Ulquiorra?" Grimmjow groaned behind him, drowsy from just coming out of sleep.

Ulquiorra kicked the covers away, tearing out of the room and into Nell's.

Immediately he could breathe again when he saw her lying there, sleeping soundly and safely. He smothered his choked breath and picked her up gently enough not to make her, holding her tightly against his chest and rocking back and forth slowly, trying not to let his shaking lungs breathe in, or he knew he would lose it.

He hadn't had one of those dreams in years, not since he'd met Grimmjow not that he thought about it. Ulquiorra choked on his breath again, forcing himself to hold it as he felt the darkness from the dream again. Momo used to sit up with him every night that he had one of those dreams. When he had moved into their house when he was eight, and even for years after that, he would have those dreams three or four times a week, and Momo would just sit with him and hold him until he could breathe again enough to fall back asleep.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Grimmjow asked, appearing in the door. He was wide-awake now, all remnants of sleep gone from even his eyes. Ulquiorra couldn't look at him, he turned back to the window and bit into his lip again, almost able to feel the spot where he'd bit through his lip in the dream, hiding his face in Nell's soft, blonde hair.

Grimmjow's hand touched his shoulder gently, pulling him into a light hug when he didn't flinch or move away.

"You had another one of those dreams again." It wasn't a question.

"**No**." He'd answered to quickly.

Grimmjow turned him slowly, holding him tightly into his strong chest. Ulquiorra moved to burry his face in Grimmjow's shirt, trying to drown himself in the sound of Grimmjow's breath and heartbeat. The sound was like his air, before he even took another breath his heart had slowed because of the sound of Grimmjow's calm breath in his chest. Grimmjow just held him, pretending not to notice the silent, hot tears running down Ulquiorra's cheeks and into his shirt.

Ulquiorra swallowed, his voice quavering when he spoke. "P-Promise me you won't ever leave me."

Grimmjow took Ulquiorra's chin gingerly in his protective, strong hand and tipped Ulquiorra's head up gently, kissing both of his eyelids before he kissed his lips. "I promise."

Ulquiorra held back a watery smile and tucked his head back into Grimmjow's shoulder. He let the taller man lead him back into their bedroom and waited until Grimmjow had lain down before he climbed up, holding Nell carefully while he laid down on Grimmjow's chest, melting into his lover's arms, breathing in the sound of Grimmjow's heartbeat. He could feel Nell's heart beating against his chest, light and quick like a bird, and that was enough for him to fall back asleep.

Six Years Later

Ulquiorra moved closer to where Grimmjow was standing until he had practically merged with the taller man and wrapped his coat tighter around him. His scarf was tight around his neck and his gloves were not doing their job of warming his fingers. He **really** hated the cold, and it was only the middle of November and fifty degrees out, now that was pathetic. Grimmjow, on the other hand, was just in a light windbreaker with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Ulquiorra moved to run forward when Nell fell face first off the slide to the ground, but Hisana ran by, now eight and a very cute little girl, and Nell happily clambered to her feet to chase after the older girl.

Ichigo and Rukia were standing next to them, the new eight-month-old baby Masaki in Rukia's arms. Masaki looked more like Ichigo's sister Yuzu than either of them, but her light purple eyes had come from Rukia. Presently Ichigo was teasing Grimmjow about how many scars he had, and Grimmjow had easily retaliated by saying that Ichigo was too much of a pansy to chance getting hurt, making Ichigo mad. Ulquiorra wasn't really sure though, he'd tuned out the pointless argument a while ago.

Nell was still barely up to Ulquiorra's thigh, still very cute and tiny like her birthmother, and her birthmark hadn't faded over the years but it didn't draw eyes away from her happy smile at all. The only thing that had changed was her hair. When she turned four, she decided that she liked Grimmjow's hair more than anyone else's, and had begged for two years to dye her hair until Ulquiorra had finally caved. Grimmjow had given in after on year.

Her short messy bob of green hair certainly got odd looks from some of the other parents at the elementary school, and so did the black knit toque hat with a skull on it that Nell often wore, but with Grimmjow as his lover, Ulquiorra really couldn't care less.

Nell ran over, laughing happily, her green coat open in the weather that was only cold to Ulquiorra, and jumped up and down at Grimmjow's feet, holding her hands up. He smiled widely and picked her up, setting her easily on his shoulders while she squealed with laughter. Hisana ran over and latched onto Grimmjow's legs, ducking around him and trying to hide from Nell. Nell smiled down at Ulquiorra, reaching out with her tiny hand. Ulquiorra smiled and reached up, taking her hand and making her smile wider.

…Strange. Not too long ago he'd been worried that his father would forbid him from seeing Grimmjow and would send him to an aversion therapy facility when he found out he was gay, and now he, Grimmjow and their **daughter** Nell were on their way to a family dinner with both sets of grandparents, Luppi, and Momo and Rangiku had even thought to invite Ichigo, Rukia and their two children.

Ulquiorra reached up and Grimmjow lifted Nell off of his shoulders to pass her to the smaller man while Hisana ran to Ichigo to be picked up. Nell laughed again and wrapped her arms around Ulquiorra's neck, Ulquiorra kissing her cheek gently.

"Daddy? Itsygo and Rukia are coming with uts, right?"

Ulquiorra smiled and set her on his hip. "Yes, everyone's coming today. We're not alone,"—Ulquiorra turned to Grimmjow and smiled—"right?"

Grimmjow blinked, his eyebrows raised, but Ulquiorra just shook his head. Grimmjow leaned down—the six and a half inches he still had to lean down—and kissed Ulquiorra gently before leaning back up and placing his arm around the smaller man's waist.

Ulquiorra put Nell down when she struggled and stepped closer to Grimmjow, content to just lean his head against his lover's chest and listen to the sound of Grimmjow's breath and heart. After all, Grimmjow's heart and Nell's heart, that was his air. It was all he would ever need.

I'm gonna cry *sniff* it's over.

Sad, but I'm glad everyone liked it enough to want an epilogue!

Thanks to everyone who stuck with me through to the end and I hope you enjoyed the epilogue!

Love, cyber hugs, and cyber cookies to all!

~Fireserpent14


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